Using thermoanalytical data. Part 7. DSC/DTA/DTG peak shapes depending on operational settings, equipment features, sample kinetic and thermodynamic parameters

Abstract: Through curves simulated (calculated) as previously reported, DSC/DTA/DTG peak shapes are discussed in terms of six parameters: height, position, left and right half width at half maximum, and also as left and right gaussian/lorentzian mixing ratio. By assigning several values to masses and heating rates (operational setting, OS), to transfer coefficients and thermal capacity (equipment features, EF), to Z, E, N (sample kinetic parameters, SK) and to DELTAH, DELTAc(p) (sample thermodynamic parameters, ST), peaks were simulated and the six parameters were calculated by a refinement procedure derived from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The resulting peaks were hardly ever pure symmetric gaussian curves, as often assumed in so called ''deconvolution'' (peak sum resolution) procedures, where such an assumption may generate artifacts. A complete discussion of peak shapes versus OS, EF, SK and ST is reported. The extension of a previously described TG simulation procedure to DSC/DTA/DTG is also reported, together with a discussion of the already proposed method, for calculating true kinetic parameters, with respect to other approaches based on signal desmearing.